Research Variables

What are Independent and Dependent research variables?

As noted by Leedy and Ormrod (2010):

A variable is any quality or characteristic in a research investigation that has two or more possible values.  They also state that an independent variable is a variable that the researcher directly manipulates.  And a dependent variable is one that is influenced by, and so to some extent depends on the independent variable. (p. 224)

(Practical Research and Planning)

Can anyone add to this blog?  I am having a hard time figuring out which variable is which in my study regarding teachers' integrating technology into the classroom.

Blog 8 - Review of Articles

Summary of International, Online Collaboration
Learning Benefits and Student Response
Lori Beckstead, Ryerson University, Canada

The collaboration starts when students and professors from two countries introduce themselves via an online discussion using a blog. The Bouncing Story is a class on radio production between two different universities in two different countries. By posting brief biographies of themselves, the students are engaged to asynchronously respond to others via a blog. This is how the bouncing starts:

1. Students from one university writes and produces the opening episode of a radio drama or comedy – it is posted online and viwed as a podcast by the specific due date.
2. The production is open-ended, then the other students at the other university has one week to write and produce a follow-up episode, and then they post their information via the podcast.
3. The write ups and production continues and bounces back and forth between the universities.

Not only do the students contribute to the episodes, they also provide extensive feedback to the other group overseas. The professor makes assignments for feedback forcing everyone to critique various episodes. The professor does provide the questions which incorporate the feedback information which needs to be included in the critique. The students also have access to read the post comments about their various productions.

The Bouncing Story has proved that motivation, authenic learning, community of learners, teamwork, and student engagement is possible in the online environment. The students are motivated because they want to do their best work. They know that their episode is being critiqued by the other group and they want to do their best. Authenic learning is taking place because students are producing real life productions. Since broadcasting is their goal, they are getting hands on experience. The community of learners is the fact that various people and cultures are working together, and learning from each other. As a team, the students encourage each other, and work together to do the best production possible. And of course, the students are engaged because they are motivated by the professor, class, and projects. In conclusion, the Bouncing Story proved that students agreed the class assisted them with the following:

Production skills
Teamwork
Critical feedback skills
Understanding of radio drama genre
Working with overseas students

When students feel that they are doing work which will help them in the real world, motivation, engagement, and teamwork tends to make learning much more enjoyable.


Summary of E-Learning: Paradigm Shift In Education
Mayur S. Desai
Jeff Hart
Thomas C. Richards

Since education now extends past the four walls of the classroom, the instructional design of distance education (DE), and/or e-Learing must be able to meet the needs of the students and professors. The Internet has made it possible to teach DE courses at lower costs, and also expand into the global markets. Interaction is paramount in DE and the technology used needs to be able to handle various transactions and software applications.

The four typical types of interacton for DE learners are:
learner-content
learner-instructor
learner-learner
learner-technology

For the instructor:
instructor-learner
instructor-content
instructor-technology

In designing DE there must be a certain amount of conversation and dialogue between the learner and instructor. Personally, I also believe that there should be communciation between and amongst the students. Of course there must be structure in DE so communication between students and instructors are continual. Students must feel that they are valued and are seen as a real person, not just a number. Social presence must be established in DE so the learner has some type of control in his learning process. If the learner is recognized for his contributions to the course, and valued as a person, his motivation to learn and participate will be enormous.

Removing students from the time and space constraints is one of the best benefits of DE. Technology has made drastic changes in how we create, record, store, distriubtue, access, and retrieve information. This has also affected how students communicate with the instructor and their classmates. The article states that in the near future face-to-face learning might become a reminent of the past. Since technology is changing so fast, it is hard for the university’s to keep pace. Due to this fact, the students might become uninterested or possibly alienated from universities which don’t embrace and encourage technology. A few obstacles with DE include a lack of awareness of the appropriate uses of technology. A second obstacle is the absence of new forms of assessment to measure student’s and teacher’s success with emerging technologies. It appears that the problem is that the technology is seen as an add on, and not viewed as the main core of the learning experience. The challenges to e-Learning include dedication and discipline on the part of the student and the instructor.

Instructional design is the most important aspect of DE because the Interent technology and course content are the driving factors of the course. There must be timelines and goals incorporated into DE. As noted in this article:

Research indicated that there was no relevance to the employment status of the instructor (part-time versus full-time) instead focusing on the actual quality of the courses offered. Research also indicated that there is no relevance to age, gender, previous online experience, academic field of studey, or persistence in taking online classes in relation to the creation of an online sense of community. (pg. 333)

In conclusion it appears that the most important aspect in DE is to create a sense of community, and provide constructive feedback by supporting open communiction, and recognizing students for their individual strenghts and experiences.

Summary of Synchronous and Asynchronous Text-Based CMC in Educational Contexts: A Review of Recent Research - Genevieve Marie Johnson

Distance education must incorporate interaction between teachers and students, and amongst the students. The primary technological applications that provide human interaction are asynchronous technology and synchronous technology (Johnson, 2006). The benefit of asynchronous instruction is the fact that learning can occur at any time. There aren’t time or space issues. Per Johnson 2006:

In a survey of educators, asynchronous online discussion was reportedly useful for encouraging in-depth, more thoughtful discussion; communicating with temporally diverse students; holding ongoing discussions where archiving is required; and allowing all students to respond to a topic. (p. 46)

Some problems of asynchronous technology were lack of communication, and the length of time for replies from teachers and students. Students felt isolated because there was not much social interaction in the curriculum. Application of asynchronous technology use in the class includes text-based conferencing and asynchronous voice conferencing. Many students feel that asynchronous instruction is superior to face-to-face instruction because the student has time to prepare and reflect on the conversation. In my opinion, asynchronous courses require the student to make excellent use of time management. Instructors must place deadlines, and mandatory dates on assignments, this will force students from adhere to project deadlines.
Synchronous instructors is when the instruction occurs at the same time for students and instructors. A benefit of synchronous instruction includes synchronous chat which is wonderful for holding virtual office hours, team and group decision-making, and brainstorming sessions. The article states that even though this type of instruction is hard to implement, it provides a greater sense of presence and its generates spontaneity. It appears that there are not many studies on synchronous instruction, at least notated in this article. I was much amused to find that synchronous chat, is often viewed as inferior to asynchronous online communication. One major finding of this article noted that:

Individuals who used both synchronous and asynchronous forms of online disucsiion were the most likely to completed required course activities. Apparently, combined synchronous and asynchronous online discussion maximized personal engagement in learning. (pg. 50)

In conclusion, quite a few of the case studies have pointed to incorporating both synchronous, and asynchronous instruction in online courses.

Blog 7 - Anchored Instruction

Anchored instruction uses technology-based learning to encourage students and teachers to create and solve complex, practical problems. John Bransford provided leadership to the Cognition & Technology Group at Vanderbilt (CTGV), and their initial focus included the design of interactive videodisc tools that produced thought-provoking educational experiences for teachers and learners. The “anchors” or stories posed real life situations and included people, places, and things that students could relate to. When using technology in the classroom, I believe that these two principles must be incorporated into curriculum:

1. Learning and teaching activities should be designed around an “anchor” which should be some sort of question, case study or problem situation.
2. Curriculum materials should allow exploration by the learner (e.g., interactive videodisc programs, Blogs, Wikis, and WebQuests). (Bransford, 1990)

The Adventures of Jasper Woodbury is an example of anchored instruction that has been used in reading, language arts, and mathematics in various grades. Since classrooms are different from the natural learning environments, it is imperative to make sure the learner is able to view knowledge, and education as fairly applicable to real world scenarios. By giving the students a story, and a mission to accomplish, the Jasper adventures engage students in their quest for knowledge. The videodisc is generally a 17-minute video voyage that ends in a multifaceted challenge. The lessons are designed like a first-class detective story where all the data necessary to solve the escapade (plus additional data that are not relevant to the solution) are embedded in the story. One of the Jasper series includes a module that focuses on complex trip planning; it is called Journey to Cedar Creek, http://peabody.vanderbilt.edu/projects/funded/jasper/preview/JCCPreview.html.

In my opinion, Anchored instruction offers a solid foundation for technology based learning. Instructors must be proactive and forward thinking by including the Internet, various technologies, and new software applications in the learning process. When an anchor or story is added into the curriculum, the student is able to use problem-solving skills and focus on the task required in the educational activity. Internet use in classrooms, are enhanced by web-based communications such as, Blogs, Wikis, and WebQuests which can provide interaction and active engagement for both online, and face-to-face classes. The bonuses to the students and teachers include an interactive knowledge base, exploration, transfer of skills, and practice using new technologies.

The Just-in-Time (JiTT) Blogging approach provides an anchor, which instructors use as preclass assignments to gauge students understanding of course concepts. The following questions provide the anchor, which employs the student in the pursuit of knowledge. Higdon and Topaz (2009), state that the JiTT methodology involves three basic steps:

1. Prior to class students briefly respond to the following questions:
What is the most difficult part of the material we will be discussing the next class?
What is the most interesting aspect of this material? How is it relevant to you and/or your career?

2. The instructor scans the responses and uses a public rubric for grading.

3. The instructor uses the information to adjust the class time accordingly in order to focus on the interests, and issues which the student’s raised in their responses.

Web 2.0 technologies enable student participation in the preclass journaling activities, by using a combination of social software tools, namely Blogs (e.g., blogger.com), Wikis (e.g., pbwiki.com) and RSS syndication (e.g., rss-to-javascript.com), a technology that enables blog entries from multiple sources to be aggregated into a single digital location. Technology is amazing! By using the right tools and software, we can interact with students, and devise a great learning experience. Here are some the basic steps:

Students can create a blog on blogger.com or any public blogging site, and email the instructor the blog’s RSS feed or link.
Instructors create the wiki.
Instructors syndicate all of the student’s information into the wiki.
Students send in their blogs by the predetermined deadline date.
Instructors scan and grade the student submissions. The wiki provides an automatic update so the instructor does not have to visit each blog.


WebQuests are another example of an exciting learning challenge that supports the use of an anchor or storyline. WebQuests are inquiry-based activities that compel students to use web-based resources and tools which transform their learning into understanding of real-world projects. A WebQuest consists of an introduction which sets the stage of the project. The task must be doable and motivating. The instructor should have a set of information resources available to the students. Also there ought to be a clear process in place with guidance and organizational frameworks. The conclusion should provide reflection of the learning process and give closure to the project. Here are a few links which provide guidance on WebQuests:
http://www.eduscapes.com/sessions/travel/define.htm
http://www.teachersfirst.com/summer/webquest/quest-a.shtml
http://www.kathimitchell.com/quests.htm

In our current class, Using the Internet in the Classroom, Dr. Judy Lambert has bestowed the class a wealth of information, and provided us with hands on experience using an assortment of technologies and software. We have familiarity with Wikis, Blogs, Podcasting, Web 2.0, Gaming, Simulations, VR, etc. Anchored instruction appears to have been the base of this technologically fascinating experience. In my opinion, the groundwork of Anchored instruction was incorporated in this class because each module had a topic, subject, question, or anchor which was the focus of exploration.

A constructive learning environment is evident when instructors properly use the Internet in the classroom. A learner-centered atmosphere takes into consideration the learners wants, needs, and desires. Knowledge-centered environments include disciplinary content as well as factual transfer of knowledge. Ongoing formative feedback and opportunities for students to make suggestions gives the journey an assessment-centered aura. The entire occurrence is community-centered because students have prospect to work together, to discover together, and to build relationships by using this fresh knowledge outside of the classroom. In conclusion, the anchors and exploration of technology in the classroom provides a holistic and positive space for all to enjoy the journey of scholarship.


References:

Bransford, J. (1990). Anchored Instruction. Retrieved from class wiki.

Higdon, J., & Topaz, C. (2009). Blogs and Wikis as Instructional Tools. College Teaching, 57(2), 105-109. Retrieved March 16, 2009.

Blog 6 - Bringing Internet enabled computers to class

There are challenges and benefits faced by university professors when students bring their Internet ready laptops to class. The net generation is composed of technologically savvy multi-taskers who are comfortable with various forms of technology. In my opinion, communication poses challenges and benefits. A major challenge involves keeping the students focused on the class activities, and staying abreast of Internet safety. Since these students are multi-taskers, they can view and use several types of technologies simultaneously. As I viewed the various podcasts in the wiki, it was evident that many students were not focused on their classes. These students appeared bored, and they used class time to catch up on their emails, etc. The students pleaded for engaging classrooms which embraced new technologies and encompassed interaction. Also security is important because of cyber- bullying instances, and threats made over the Internet. Even at the college level, it is important to communicate Internet safety measures when students are online. Per the New Media Consortium, Social Networking, “The “Third Place,” and the Evolution of Communication”:

The vehicle for these changes is the Internet. Increasingly, it is the “third place” (the first and second places being home and work) where people connect with friends, watch television, listen to music, build a sense of togetherness with people across the world, and provide expressions of ourselves which are themselves forms of communication. As more people turn to the Internet for professional and social purposes, we are seeing new means of communication, new places to communicate, and new avenues of interaction unfold at a rapid pace.

A benefit of communication via the Internet focuses on the professor integrating several technologies into the class curriculum which can keep students occupied. In the article, “The Prose of Blogging (and a Few Cons, Too),” Ramasawami stated, “A Plethora of Technology," set out to show that blogging could improve students' writing skills by making them write more frequently and comment on one another's work. Also in the article, “Two to Three Years: Virtual Worlds,” NMC states that:

Virtual worlds can be used to create very effective learning spaces. Since they are generalized rather than contextual, they are applicable to almost all disciplines. Settings can be created to pertain to any subject or area of study; locations and artifacts can be as realistic and detailed, or as generic and undefined as desired. 3D construction tools allow easy visualization of physical objects and materials, even those normally occurring at cosmic or nano scales.

Using virtual worlds can be a great tool to connect students in a classroom with engaging activities. Carrie Windham made several good points about the net generation:
· Multi-taskers
· Social Creatures
· Computer is the center of student’s communication and social life
· Big 3 – cell phone, computer, MP3 player
· Mobility is important
I think that if instructors listened to their students and included engaging technologies into the classroom, a wireless computer could enhance classroom learning. In order to enhance communication, and keep students focused, professors must include various technologies, Father Google, and Mother IM into coursework.

Working in a Group on the Wiki

I enjoyed working with Group 3 on the group presentation. We were able to communicate with each other, and everyone added great information to the presentation. The technology really enhanced our interactions and communication. I liked the fact that our presentation was sort of a living/changing document. I didn't have any problems working in a group on this presentation. It is strange, but working in a group via the wiki/Internet was much easier than working in a group in a face to face class. Since my schedule is busy and hectic, I liked the fact that I could sign on at any time of day or night and add my information. Even when I was on vacation, I was able to sign in and continue my revisions.

Juenethia

Blog Post 4 - Social Networking

Social networking is a necessity for many people today, especially today’s generation. Social networking reminds me of how the telephone was so important when I was a teengager. As a matter of fact, having a two-way line was really a big deal, because I very rarely missed a call. I was also able to communicate with several people at once. We are all social creatures, we need to interact with each other, and the various activites going on in our society. The social networking technologies allow us to interact with many people, venues, and on various scales. Time and distance is no longer a factor. As one of my teengagers uploaded their myspace account, I was amazed at the many friends which he had listed on his frontpage. These friends were from all over the country. Of course, security was my main concern, but kids know how to block out certain things, and not to use private information.
Social networking has postive attributes such as information sharing, reaching lots of people, and bypassing the time and distance issue. In the business world, social networking can expand new ideas, and make the workplace more productive. Some negative affects include hackers, predators, etc. Second Life is fun and engaging. It is sort of like playing a video game, and learning at the same time. By emerging myself into another world, as another person, I was free to fly and expand my horizons by visiting this new place. Just the escape from reality was nice! I am having fun with Second Life, but it is very challenging. My kids are able to quickly move around in Second Life, and design all sorts of things. For me, it is taking a lot of effort to move around, and interact with my new surroundings. In my opinion, a major benefit of Second Life would be joining a few educational sites. I would like to stay abreast of new technologies, and new ways of learning online. I feel that if I don’t participate in Second Life sites, I might really miss some valuable tools and information.

Reflection on BlackBoard Course

I am also taking a course on the Blackboard. That technology is not really engaging. I was previously very comfortable with the Blackboard. But now, I prefer to use the wiki, blog, etc. Wow! I really appreciate Using the Internet in the Classroom. I am enjoying learning this new technology.